A transfer from CNN's Atlanta bureau, Baldwin, now the afternoon host of CNN Newsroom, is always at the epicenter of breaking news, from the Boston marathon bombings to the New York City chokehold-death protests—reportage of which earned her an Emmy nomination—to the current presidential debates. (For fun, she also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro last year.) "When either major stories break or something just really touches me, I initiate and pitch, then follow through," Baldwin says. "I will literally march across the newsroom and bang on the president of CNN's door. He knows when I'm coming."

At November's GOP debate in Milwaukee, the finance-savvy Smith—a cohost on FNC's Outnumbered—and Fox Business Network's Trish Regan became the first female duo ever to moderate a presidential debate. "My take is that there's money behind every story," says Smith, who also is a regular correspondent for FBN. "If we're talking about ISIS, foreign policy, the presidential elections—whatever it may be—money drives just about everything. So that's my angle."

Top, skirt, both, Michael Kors Collection. Earrings, Melissa Kaye.

STEPHANIE RUHLE, BLOOMBERG

Ruhle's 14 years working in hedge funds at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank come in handy on Bloomberg Go, the channel's fast-paced morning show that has her delivering market updates, interviewing the likes of Donald Trump and Tom Brady (in the show's first two weeks, no less), and covering global leaders both on and off Wall Street. "When I first entered this business, I said, Well, this will be good to stay in for 10 years or so, then I'll start a family. Then 10 years came"—and a husband and three kids—"and I thought, I'm just hitting my stride. There's no way I'm leaving."

As a coanchor and special correspondent on America With Jorge Ramos—Fusion's weekly newsmagazine that prioritizes issues pertaining to young, diverse Americans—Menendez serves as a current-events conduit for the oft-mocked millennial generation (Fusion is now in more than 40 million American homes). "The number-one thing you have to understand when talking with young people about politics is that we are informed, we are educated…and we care about the issues as much as we care about our selfie game."

As a political and presidential correspondent for MSNBC and NBC News, Hunt—who on the record asked Rick Perry in 2014, "Are you smart enough to be president?"—obviously takes no prisoners on a campaign trail now packed with skilled and fearless females. Hillary's press corps alone includes 18 women, among them Andrea Mitchell and TheNew York Times's Amy Chozick. "It's almost unremarkable, right?" Hunt says of this female-rich cycle. "Which is kind of a success in itself."